anyway, i can't say that i can make any judgments about the play, but the numbers looked good and a 2-0 win is only 1 goal short of the 3-0 result that i wanted... the best news was that jay simpson scored his first goal; and after the promising play he has shown in the games in which he has participated, i had a real sense of renewed hope, especially after the unfortunate loss to aston villa on the weekend. which was another tight one that we could have won with less mistake at the back, and more incision up front. but tony mowbray has been doing some pretty fair wheeling and dealing in the loans market in the last few days, and rearmed now with a full complement of strikers finally, there is every reason for there to be a positive feeling about the rest of the season today.
i have to say that about the albion this year: they have distinguished themselves by not getting into a panic and think about firing the manager rather than face life in the championship again (as some clubs in the premiership are starting to do). i hope the baggies realize that this gives them a potentially huge psychological advantage in matches with premiership clubs that literally can't afford relegation. blackburn springs immediately to mind, for one...
in fact, and although hardly out of the woods, but with jay simpson and luke moore having opened their scoring accounts, and both looking useful with bednar coming into form, we may just yet have a team that can avoid the need for a dramatic "great escape" scenario by pulling us up out of the drop-zone well before the last two months of the season. of course, i think this weekend against middlesborough will be the start of where it's determined whether we're going to have to do this the hard way or not - as there won't be that many opportunities to gain what is essentially a 6 point turnaround from a single victory, like this one. also, we will know more about what the actual form of the team is likely to be over the next month or so, and see if the strikers and other scorers can continue to find form. a win will go a long way to determining this, and i'm fully expecting it based on our first match against middlesborough. despite the lack of miller, i think we are probably a better team right now than we were when we beat them way back in october, and the outcome of this match will say much about the albion's character.
The FA Cup
i saw a post earlier last week, on BBC 606, that suggested we send out a second team and allow peterborough to beat us, so we could have the club concentrate on the premier league. it goes to show where people's heads are at these days; but as a baggies supporter who cares deeply about the history of the club, i found this absolutely appalling. i hope above anything that the albion can put together a decent cup run. success in one competition can sometime stimulate confidence in others - and just personally speaking - wouldn't an FA cup win - and it's not beyond this present albion line-up (portsmouth certainly proved that last year) or at least a finals appearance, go a long way to take to the sting out of a misery, if, for example, worse came to worse and we were relegated? also, and unlike some of the other clubs in the premier league - the albion should always put their utmost effort into winning the FA cup, because, after all, what are west bromwich albion famous for? with only one league title ever - which they won about 120 years ago - west bromwich albion is famous for their 5 FA cup wins out of 10 finals appearances - as well as their overall 20 appearances in FA cup semi-finals. they still rank as the fifth most successful cup team of all time, and i believe rank number three all-time in FA cup semi-final appearances. it might make us a bit of an anachronism - but not to go full-out for FA cup victory would be to turn our backs on our very history and the source of our greatest fame. i mean, last year - if they had managed to get past portsmouth in the semis - i have no doubt that they would have gone on to win the rarest of doubles, managed only once before (by the baggies of 1931): a second division (in this case "championship") title coupled with an FA cup final win.
my feelings on the matter (and to hell with the premier league for just a moment) is that the less we put into the cup, the less we are west bromwich albion. time and tide may change perspectives and diminish the value of a particular competition. indeed, manchester united fans expect a routine league/FA cup double, rather than look on it as a special achievement - as it used to be a near impossible thing to do. in fact, my first exposure to english football, was the CBC broadcast of the 1971 arsenal-liverpool final. it was a big deal that arsenal had not only manages to become the firs team to create a come from behind victory in extra-time; but more importantly, managed to win the "double" for only the second time in the 20th century. it was historical... and the FA cup was the show-piece. winning the league was all very important because of what it meant in practical terms and is the true foundation of a successful run in the european competitions; but to win the FA cup was the struggle to be champion whose glory was evident, palpable and resplendent. it was the true show... the highlight of the year, as well as the year's most important memory. who won the FA cup? that was the measure of the year. it wasn't until the european competitions - through television - became so important that the perception shifted and the premier league title became of paramount importance. in 1976 liverpool may have won the league, but it's southampton winning the FA cup that we all remember.
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